Miss Independent

I enrolled Annabel in an art class this summer.  It was every day for one week from 1:45 PM to 3:00 PM.  The class was called “Clay for Tiny Hands” and I just kept thinking about that “tiny” part.

Annabel is my baby and I’m already freaked out about her starting preschool in the Fall.  She just seems too, well, tiny.  She’s only three years old.  To ease my fears about her starting school where she will be dropped off and left for the first time EVER, I decided the art class would be a good warm up. (Also because my son had a bit of separation anxiety when I first dropped him off alone.  I didn’t know whether that was personality driven or the fact that I’m a stay-at-home mom and they are with me all the time.)

Well, Annabel LOVED her clay class.  She also had no problem with me leaving her there for the full 75 minutes. She’s a thinker, like her brother, so I could see the thoughts whirling around in her head when she entered the studio for the first time.  She looked excited and overwhelmed and observant all at the same time.  But mostly, she looked confident.

It’s just so cool to learn something new about your kid.  It happens a lot at this age.  Every new opportunity is another opportunity for me to uncover another piece of the puzzle that makes up my daughter.

It may have been “Clay for Tiny Hands” but she really isn’t tiny anymore.  She is my big girl. My big girl who makes friends and asks a millions questions and walks into art class all by herself.  I’m a little sad and my heart is bursting.  But mostly, I’m just so proud.

Swimmingly

Daniel and Annabel are enrolled in summer swimming lessons and it’s been great.  They go twice a week for 8 sessions. This is the first year they have done a group lesson.  Daniel started the ISR (Infant Survival Classes) when he was only 18 months old. There was a lot of screaming and crying involved, but he did learn to float and swim to safety.  It was pretty amazing.

Annabel never “took” to the ISR lessons which really means I didn’t finish the entire program with her.  Daniel did a refresher course for a few weeks last summer, and since I had them both with me all day long, I just stopped her beginner lessons when Daniel stopped his refresher lessons.  She really should have completed the entire thing.  Bad Mama.

This year I decided on group lessons because I want them both to learn to SWIM. I want them to learn the strokes and the kicks and the breathing. I also still have the issue of keeping them together and finding a place to teach both their skill levels at the same time. (Believe me, I know ISR is an AMAZING course and I still would highly recommend it to anyone with younger kids.)

The group lessons take place in an indoor pool so there is no worry of weather issues and I don’t have to slather on sunscreen. First there was a rocky start with Annabel. She has diva moments when she gets pouty and grumpy.  (We are also in the stage of “nap” versus “no nap.”  And when “no nap” wins, she’s a bit of a mess at the pool. Sorry, patient swim teacher.)  But she is now starting to kick her legs and blow bubbles and float like a champ.  Daniel is swimming to the teacher and swimming back to the wall all by himself.  He is starting to learn some basic strokes and if we do another session this summer, I can see him really excelling.  He loves it so much that he smiles the entire lesson.  It’s a joy to see.

Plus, they have really cool bathing suits.  Thanks, Grandma.

Proud

This is Annabel’s potty chart.  We She did it!

I’m so proud of my big girl.

Annabel’s First Ballet Recital

On a much, much, MUCH happier note…

Annabel had her very first ballet recital last week.  It was more like an open house for parents to go completely camera crazy.  It was awesome.  Annabel was a camellia flower which meant her costume was pink!  (Thank goodness!)  I don’t know what we would have done if she was blue or purple.  She wore a pink flower headband and an enormous pink tutu.  She had absolutely no fear of getting up on that stage and dancing her heart out.  In fact, she was the very last little girl to step down when the 3 year old performance was done.

It’s very exciting to see your kid be passionate about something, ANYTHING.  Annabel is passionate about ballet.  We bought her pink Gerber daises to celebrate.

Life’s a Beach

or..not.

I’ve been telling Annabel lately that “you are lucky you are so cute.”  Which is true on two levels.  One, she is very, very cute and two, she is driving me CRAZY with this “3″ stuff.

That’s the excuse I will use for her erratic behavior.  She’s THREE.  That’s my hubbie’s diagnosis whenever I ask him, “What is going on with her?  Do you think she’s just overtired because she’s not napping that much?  Do you think I’m stressing her out with the potty training by asking her if she has to poop every 5 minutes?  Why does she whine so much?”

“She’s THREE.”

Right.  AND she’s potty training.

I don’t like to talk about potty training that much because I feel like I’m going to jinx everything and I also don’t like talking about that STUFF in general.  I love being a Mom with all my heart, but the poop and pee stuff is something I will never get used to. Never. And it changes from cute little baby butts to big toddler butts before you know it and..

Ahhhh!  I just don’t want to talk about it.

What I WILL say is that I had a plan with Daniel and it was awesome.  We waited until he was ready.  I read all about potty training in my favorite toddler bible.  We set him up with all the tools and all the information and when he was ready, that was it. No more diapers.  No pull ups.  Only underwear.  He was a potty star.  I set up Annabel for potty training the very same way and it’s just taking a longer time.  She’s also my second kid and she’s my princess diva daughter, so I let her wear pull ups instead of underwear because that’s what she wants.  And, let me be honest, I don’t have the time anymore (like I did with Daniel) to just sit around the house and let her potty train at her own leisure.  We now have school drop offs and soccer games and places to go and..

Yikes.  I’m still talking about it.

The other night, about three hours after she went to bed, she woke up SCREAMING. When I ran to the room she looked at me like she had no clue who I was.  She was sweating and screaming and pushing me away and kicking me and I could not comfort her at all.  I asked her if she had to go potty and she just covered her ears.  She finally calmed down and I left her room to Google “what the hell just happened with my kid because her head almost started to spin” and it turns out she had a night terror.  And if you keep Googling you find that night terrors are often associated with the stress from potty training.

Great.

So I’ve shut up about it and it turns out, everything is fine! EVERYTHING IS FINE.  It’s my new favorite saying because it really is so simple yet so darn TRUE. Everything IS fine.  Annabel is healthy.  She eats.  She sleeps.  She runs.  She plays.  She’s smart and funny.  She has her pink princess room which makes her happy.  She has a loving family and awesome friends.  Everything is fine.  And there is NO reason to worry or stress her out because she will PEE AND POOP ON THE POTTY WHEN SHE’S READY!

Oh, sorry, did it again.

 

It’s Friday, Friday

Happy Friday!  Yahoo!!

And do you know WHY I’m so happy?? Well….

1.  Grey’s Anatomy ROCKED LAST NIGHT.  (I may be in the minority here, but I thought it was just awesome.)

2. I survived Spring Break week with both kiddies at home!  We had some great adventures:  bike rides, park fun, lunch at Panera, a bookstore visit, library craft day, and a perfect rainy afternoon watching Tangled on DVD. We ended the week at the MOSH in downtown Jacksonville.  Here they are goofing around in the indoor tree house.

3. I’m going out to Happy Hour with the hubbie tonight!  I don’t know the last time I went out for Happy Hour.  It was definitely pre-kiddies.

Finally, I leave you with the biggest viral video of the week.  It now has over 72 million views on YouTube! It’s Rebecca Black singing “Friday.”  Very appropriate.   She’s only 13 years old and I think she’s pretty darn awesome too.

Annabel’s First Ballet Class

I have been waiting for Annabel to take her first ballet class since the day she was born.

That might be a BIT of an exaggeration (I’m a girly girl.  I admit it.) But, nonetheless, I was so excited to go out and buy her the “required” pink ballet tights, pink leotard, and fancy pink ballet shoes.  Annabel could not wait to take those shoes out of the box today.   We were off to her very first ballet class.

I found a dance instructor who teachers toddlers and preschoolers in a church facility about 10 minutes away from our house. Her philosophy is great.  She wants the kids to have fun and dance with joy.  She does not want to make it too technical or too competitive.  There is small recital at the end of the semester.  I thought it sounded perfect for Annabel.

And it was.  I was a little worried because this was the first time I was leaving her alone in a closed room with a teacher.  When I tried this with Daniel for the first time at age 3, it did not go so well.  There was some separation anxiety.  This is the one negative (in my opinion) of being a stay-at-home-Mama.   They become attached and want to be with me, or their sibling, all the time.  Annabel’s personality is little more relaxed than Daniel’s PLUS she has the advantage of seeing her guinea pig brother do everything first.  She went in that room with no hesitation.

I peeked in a few times to watch her.  She was intently following all of the instructions.  The teacher showed her how to stand on a star on the floor.  She rocked a prentend baby from side to side in her arms. There were hobby horses to practice galloping in circles.  She even had a wand with a ribbon to swirl in the air and pretend she was a princess.  Her favorite part was watching herself in the big mirror on the wall.

At the end of class, the teacher said Annabel did a great job and she would see us next week. I never know what to expect with my little princess diva these days, but I think deep down I always knew she would love dance class.  She’s my ballerina girl.  (And I still can’t get that Lionel Richie song out of my head either.)

 

 

 

 

Three

My baby turned THREE on February 15th.  I think it’s the hardest transition for me because “2″ still feels like a baby, but “3″ means I have a little girl now.

And my little girl is already in her new “big girl” bed.  Annabel wanted a princess bed so I had a blast picking out the shabby chic comforter and a flower canopy, a special splurge from PBKids.

Nothing is too good for my princess.

Annabel is the definition of a princess and that pretty much defines the year for me.  She knows what she loves and she loves everything girly: Ponies, princesses, Hello Kitty (still), dolls, and lots of pink.  We call her our little “princess diva” because along with the sweet demeanor and smile comes her stubbornness and drama.  She will hide her face when someone wants to say hello but five minutes later she will offer a hug.  She will push her brother away when he wants to join in the fun but then they will sit side by side and color a picture together. She knows her letters and she loves to say her ABCs.  She also loves to sing along with songs on the radio and she has developed her Mama’s love for 80s music.  (Thanks Kidz Bop!)  She loves to dance and will spin around in circles until she is dizzy.  She will also grab my hands unexpectedly so we can dance together in the kitchen after breakfast or lunch.

She is growing like a weed and I finally found a gym program that she likes. We get to have our “Mommy and Me” time once a week so she can work on her strength and flexibility.  She still loves to be lazy and she asks to be carried up the stairs or into bed. But she can cuddle, hug, and kiss with the best of them.  She loves to be loved.

Her head of curls will now reach to her bottom when wet, but I don’t want to dare cut an inch.  I fear the curls may disappear and they are such a part of her personality.

She is a little social butterfly now although she still loves to play alone like her big brother.  She is working on sharing with others and I am so proud of her independence.  She is my neighborhood Mommy Playgroup buddy and I am still surprised when I don’t have to worry about her for an entire hour with the other little girls. She also is the only girl when she plays with her big brother’s friends but she will hold her own.  She is a princess but she will not let the boys push her around.

She had two amazing birthday celebrations this year.  On her actual birthday, Grandma and Grandpa drove down from Maryland to spend the special day with their granddaughter.  Annabel was thrilled.  She loved the special attention and all the extra reading and playtime.  Grandma and Grandpa also took Annabel to the mall for a special Hello Kitty surprise and a train ride.

Daddy made a special birthday dinner and I made Annabel a pink heart cake because that is the cake my Mom made me for my February birthday every year.  I’ve decided this is our new birthday tradition.  She had a wonderful day with her Grandparents, her GG, her brother and her Mama and Daddy.

Then Annabel had another birthday celebration on Saturday with 12 friends at the My Gym.  The princess diva theme continued and she left her tiara on the entire time.  There were pink balloons, lots of bubbles, zip line rides, swings, puppets, a ball pit and I’m exhausted just thinking about it all.  It really was such a blast.

Happy Birthday, my sweet baby girl.  Now stop growing up so fast, okay?

Fair

We went to the Jacksonville Fair last week and it was the perfect adventure to display my kiddies’ unique personalities.  Daniel is the daredevil who wanted to go on every single ride, including the super big Ferris wheel.   He was in awe the entire time.  He loves to figure out how things work.   My husband loved the view of the football stadium. (Go Jags!)

Annabel screamed with glee when she saw all the crazy fair food.   She hung onto that popcorn bag the entire time.  And her favorite part of the fair was dancing to all the hip hop music that was blasting from the speakers of that Himalaya ride. (Okay, I liked it too.)

On a side note, and somewhat related to all the fair food consumption, I am now on a diet.  I HATE to say diet, so I will change that to: I am now choosing better foods to eat and I will also exercise more.   My last hurrah was that yummy funnel cake at the fair.  Hopefully now that I’ve put this down in writing, I will actually stick to it.  My goal is to be down a pants size by my February birthday.  And, yes, I know the holidays are coming.  This is gonna be hard. (Oh how I heart you, pumpkin pie.)

Giraffes and Ice Cream Cones

For our Friday night date night, the hubbie and I went to the zoo for their annual “Brew at the Zoo” charity event.  The highlight was (surprisingly) not all the free beer and food samples.  The highlight for me was some alone time with these tall guys and gals.

I love giraffes.  I love them because they are tall like me.  I think their skin color is breathtaking.  I was able to feed a giraffe but darn my camera phone.  The photo came out really blurry.  I need a new phone, but that’s a story for another day and a wish for Christmas.  But I did get this cool shot.  Check out her huge tongue!

On Saturday night we all went out for a family dinner at The Cheesecake Factory.  I was craving some avocado egg rolls.  And a glass of pinot.   The kids love the bread basket and they split the pasta dish from the kids menu.  (That was a tip from our waiter and he was right. It was an enormous portion.)  We walked over to the ice cream parlor for dessert. We ate our drippy cones outside on a bench while the sun was setting. 

Annabel was done first and opted to do a little light reading while she waited.

You gotta love Florida.   We’ll still be hanging outside in our T-shirts and shorts (and Hello Kitty skirt sets) for at least another month.  Happy October.

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